Some info and a new old Hobby...

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
I haven't posted here in my homestead in ages. Been busy busy busy..anyhow. Long ago, before there was discus, there was photography as my hobby....recently have dusted off my camera gear and been shooting again. I use 35 mm Slrs... used to use slide film, then went to Digital. I use both now, though I have leaned more and more towards digital. I'm a pentax buff. I collect pentax cameras and lens. Currently I shoot with 14.6 mp K20d cameras....I have an ever growing assortment of lens. For film era gear...I lean on my pentax PZ1p, but I still shoot everything from manual K1000 and spotmatics on up...Even my wife and kids are into the pics takings...makes for a great family hobby.

Usually I take bird and nature pics.. that my thing and always has been...but everything is fair game.I've posted many times over the years some of my pics...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...nt-pics-I-took...
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...Really-BUGS-Me!!!
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ee-photo-Essay...


Anyhow... I'm embarking on a new photo journey. Its actually a blending of the old with the new. Back in the1960s and 1970, there was popular type of camera lens, called a M42 screw mount. It was used in many of the early SLR....It was developed by Carl Zeis, a famous name in optics. Pentax cameras made extensive use of this type of mount in their Spotmatic line, and as a result the M42 mount became synonomous with Pentax...though many other mfgs used it until the bayonet type mounts replaced it ( still in use today).

So why the history lesson? Simple really, back then the optics on the lens and construction needed to be exceptional as the film was not that sensitive and the cameras were rather primitive. These lens also tended to be Primes...meaning the were a fixed focal length. Today most lens are zooms..and zooms inheritently tend to be less sharp than primes.

Flash forward 40-50 years.. and you can still find these lens in abundance at placed like ebay, or KEH.com (specializes in used cameras and gear). These lens go for a fraction of the price of new lens and often the optics exceed or easily rival the new lens. Many photographers have taken to buying these lens and with an appropriate adapter these simple lens may be used with everything from Cannon, nikon, pentax etc..not just the film camera's but the digital as well. Theres even forums dedicated to it like Mflense.com . Of course to use these lens takes a bit more effort.....you loose all your automated fuctions like auto focus and auto metering... you need to fall back on raw camera skills...manual focusing and metering...but if you were ever into taking pics, this probably is not a big issue.

So thats what I have done...I have fitted out one of my digital cameras and put together a camera bag with just M42 lens..These I will be shooting with and exploring what can be done with them. Its far easier to use an autofocus lens, and put the camera in green mode and snap a pic, but thats not what I like...I'm interested in the old ways..., and I love the feel of a solid camera and solid metal lens in my hands...tome its pure joy.... so from time to time I'll post pics in this thread of images captured like this. A blending of the new with old....

This is a new venture, so not many pics yet...heres few I recently snapped. These were taken with a 135 mm Vivitar M42 screw mount lens, on a 10 mp k2000 pentax digital camera.

-al
ps..The lens cost me $45 , the adapter which is used repeatedly, cost me $10.00
The average Price range for M42 lens is between $30-$200 for most lens. A few may go higher....much higher...

[brewmaster15]

With the cult of Pentax camera fanatics theres a line of lens that are legendary..The Takumar M42 lens. Solid metal bodies, largely excellent optics....Today they are still availible and in high demand. Many digital SLR fans that use the newer full frame cameras have found these lens to be an excellent value even 50 years after they were made. Takumars are among my favorite lens. They fully meet the saying"they don't make them like that any more" my goal is to have two complete set of taks, one for the field...and one for a collection...it'll take a while!


Anyhow, One of the more common Takumars is the 200 mm f4 Super takumar, or SMC takumar. The Super Takumar has a basic lens coating to help prevent lens flare and improve optics, the SMC stands for super multicoated and its a special coating on the lens elements that pentax developed. Highly regarded and used even today. I have both these lens ..average cost $70-90.

Heres some pics I took with a poor example of the Super takumar lens...optically good, but mecahnically challenged.

-al

[brewmaster15]

One nice thing about the Digital Slrs and manual lens...You may lose the auto functions, but Digital cameras have some neat built in tools. In this case I played around with the in camera lighting. The day I took the following pictures (as well as the above ones) was a cloudy over cast day...For the daffodils shots I took them with the cameras lighting set to daylight shadows and then with the cameras filter for Flourescent indoor lighting....

I think they are Interesting pics..

-al

[Rummy]

Awesome. I am loving the camera lessons. Great pictures too. I wish I could give a more intelligent answer as to what I see in the photographs. But, unfortunatley, I can't put my figure on it. Regardless, keep them coming. I happen to have a Pentax that I am very happy with. I just tinker with it mainly for my fish. I am learning as I go.

[brewmaster15]

Anik,
What model pentax do you have?

-al

[Rummy]

It's a K-X. I think they just discontinued that line. It is a great starter camera. It is able to capture about 4fps. That was really important for me. I am hoping to buy a macro f2.5 lens for it. I am really happy with it. I have gotten some great shots of some of the birds over here. I will have to dig up some of those shots when I get a moment.

[brewmaster15]

It's a K-X. I think they just discontinued that line. It is a great starter camera. It is able to capture about 4fps. That was really important for me. I am hoping to buy a macro f2.5 lens for it. I am really happy with it. I have gotten some great shots of some of the birds over here. I will have to dig up some of those shots when I get a moment.

The KX is good beginners camera, its actually based off the K2000 that I am using for this M42 lens project... What lens do have for it? and for macro, what kind of critters do you want to take pics of?
-al

[Rummy]

I like to document any interesting fish ailments for my own little data base. Any interesting animal medical cases that need detail shots would probably benefit from the macro lense as well. Of course, bugs and little creatures, not to mention, my own fish are all fair game. Right now, I just have the two lenses that came with the camera - 18-55 and 50-200. They work fine for birding.

[Rummy]

Oh, yeah! Almost forgot! I just started taking pictures of what I see under the microscope. Those photos will be useful some day.

[brewmaster15]

Anik,
I have a 50 mm FA 2.8 macro from pentax...Its a film era AF lens... regarded as probably one of the best lens Pentax ever made.... It works great on my dSLR. You can pick these up for about $350-450 used... The newer lens they make are okay...but this lens is a real gem and solid as a rock. Before you buy a macro check out the this lens review board at Pentax forums... http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/
Its an excellent resource for pentax compatible lens.

My 50 mm FA 2.8 is an awesome lens...my favorite by far... I'm waiting on a good deal for its sister...The 100 FA 2.8 Another really good lens...price ranges from $450-650 used. Its a good option as it allows you to put a little more distance between you and the subject but still get a good 1:1 macro.

Last alternative... I really like this lens..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lester-A-Din...item256b8ad292
This lens comes extremely highly rated...its manual focus, not a big deal as most macro work relies on manual focus, but the optics are excellent...and the glass mfg, Kiron, was one of the best at the time. The thing about this lens I like is its whats called a flat field, which is really useful in alot of macro work. The difference is a traditional macro lens is designed to be sharpest at the middle, where as a flat field is sharp all thru the lens. If I had the cash right now, this Lens would be mine. unfortunately, I'll have to wait and save a bit.

-al

[shoveltrash]

lovely photos! I'm envious - knowing NOTHING about photography, lens & camera specs sound like Greek to me LOL.

[Rummy]

Wow! Thanks for all of that information! I have been trying to figure out what would be some good options. And there you go. You've given me a lot of food for thought. The one I have been looking at is the DFA macro 100 f2.5WR. It hadn't even occurred to me to look outside of the Pentax brand. I was just searching for a couple of photos to show, and it is evident that I [I]Really[I] need a macro.
Thanks for that information.

[RichT]

Nice project you have going. There's a lot of legacy glass available to the pentax platform and on the cheap to boot.
Have fun with it !!

Now if I could only take a picture.

Rich

[Rummy]

Here are a few pictures that I took last year. I wanted to post links only, so I don't sabotage this thread. I couldn't get it to work. Let me know, and I will start a new thread and move these photos over there.






That sunset was real. I did not change anything.

[brewmaster15]

Wow! Thanks for all of that information! I have been trying to figure out what would be some good options. And there you go. You've given me a lot of food for thought. The one I have been looking at is the DFA macro 100 f2.5WR. It hadn't even occurred to me to look outside of the Pentax brand. I was just searching for a couple of photos to show, and it is evident that I [I]Really[I] need a macro.
Thanks for that information.

No problem. That DFA macro 100 f2.8WR is an excellent lens....one of the better ones currently in production.
Pentax users have given it some seriously good marks..
http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensrevi...FA-Lenses.html

Theres other good options for non- pentax lens as well ...depends on your budget and goals. The Tamron 90 mm macro pentax MT is good.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Tamron-A...item4844c56481
Its a true 1:1 macro and not badly priced. Tamrons are a good lens to consider as the come with a 7 year warranty when you buy them from an authorized dealer...Cost about $400.00

Another option if the budget is tight is a 90 mm macro by sigma with pentax mount.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sigma-90mm-f...item256d4fc7c9
This one is 1 :2 macro, still great for most macro work...but budget friendly at around $180-190

If you prefer not to go the ebay route.. BHphoto is my preferred place for new....Great service, fair price..
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

If you need any opinions, let me know. I've been hooked on pentax for decades

-al